For the Love of My Life
by Nat Hockins
Summary: Naruto is sent away to train with Jiraiya for 3 years, but 2 years later, Hinata, Ino, and Sakura meet up with him in wave country, and he is alone. What happened to Jiraiya? How does Hinata feel about finally getting to see the young man she loves? Pairi


Okay, here's the deal. Basically, this is a different fic. I thought the first chapter of the old fic was good, but I read thru it and it went waaaaay too fast. SO! I'm rewriting the first chapter into a completely new fic! I'll change the name of the fic slightly of course. This starts, as many other fics, when team save Sasuke return from their mission… with a heavily injured Naruto and no Sasuke. This fic's centric-ness varies between lots of different characters. NaruHina, thank god. Maybe a bit of one-sided KibaHina, (don't worry, Kiba will find love, that's what OC's are for.) Oh, and also, if anyone knows Chouji's dad's name, could you tell me in a review or something? It would be helpful to know.

Pairings: NaruHina, ShikaIno, SasuSaku, NejiTen, KibaOC, ChoujiOC, and LeeOC.

"Blah" someone normally speaking.

'_Blah'_ someone thinking

'**BLAH!'** Do I even have to say? Kyuubi speaking, of course. Not always in caps.

'**_BLAH!' _**Kyuubi's thoughts. Not always in caps.

* * *

Nara Shikamaru stared lazily up at the gate guards. "Neh, are you troublesome guys gonna open these gates, or what?" He sighed. He was really worried about his teammates, especially Chouji, but he wasn't about to show it. _'Dammit, why'd he go and take that troublesome red pill? His dad's gonna be pissed.' _Shikamaru thought to himself.

He heard a huge commotion on the other side of the gate and a familiar female voice shouting insults and threats. '_Oh no.' _Shikamaru thought. _'Not her, anyone but her!'_ The gates creaked open slightly. A girl with long, light blond hair tied up in a ponytail rushed out.

"Shikamaru!" she cried. "I was so worried!" She hugged him and cried into his shoulder. '_How troublesome… but hey, at least she didn't pummel me like usual…'_ The lazy Chuunin thought.

"Err…It's alright Ino…" He said to her, and patted her on the back. "Err… Ino…I kinda need to report to the Hokage…could you…?" He sighed. "Could you let go of me?" Ino pulled away, blushing.

"Sorry, I don't know what came over me…" She said, her face reddening a bit more. She ran back through the gates, passing an older blond woman as she walked out. She looked sternly at Shikamaru.

"H-Hokage-sama! You'll be wanting a mission report?" He said, startled. _'She doesn't usually come out to greet us back from missions… odd…'_

"No, just tell me the gist of it right now. I hate reading those stuffy reports. And besides…" The woman paused, looking at Shikamaru's broken finger, "It doesn't look like you will be writing anytime soon." Shikamaru sighed again. This was turning out to be a very troublesome day.

"Okay," Shikamaru said, "During our pursuit of the missing-nin Uchiha Sasuke, we were met with opposition. Akimichi Chouji, Hyuuga Neji, and Inuzuka Kiba all defeated their opponents with heavy injuries, Kiba with some help from Kankurou of the Sands, and I with the help of Temari of the Sands. Rock Lee followed us and with the help of Gaara of the Sands, defeated Orochimaru's Elite soldier, Kimimaro. Uzumaki Naruto went on ahead and faced the Uchiha in combat at the valley of the end, and is currently in a comatose state. Uchiha Sasuke escaped across the border." Shikamaru sighed again. "In a nutshell, Mission Failure."

Moments later, several medic-nins had rushed out and put all the incapacitated Ninjas on stretchers and carried them to the hospital. Shikamaru grumbled as a medic-nin tended his hand, wondering why he even accepted this stupid job.

* * *

Hyuuga Hinata entered the hospital, wondering what the commotion was. Suddenly, several of her friends were carried by on stretchers, and she saw a certain blonde in a deathlike state, covered in wounds and bruises. "N-Naruto-kun…" she whispered weakly. She felt a comforting hand on her shoulder. Hinata looked up to see the Hokage, her teacher, standing above her, a worried look on her face. "Tsunade-sensei…?"

"I-I'm sure he'll be fine, Hinata." She looked as if she didn't believe this herself. Hinata had spoken to Tsunade about her crush on Naruto, and Tsunade had been constantly giving her bits of advice ever since. _'Please be okay, Naruto-kun…'_ Hinata thought with a sigh. "Just sit down in the waiting room and I'll tell you his condition after I've checked him." Tsunade rushed off after Naruto's stretcher, and Hinata worriedly took a seat. _"Thank you, Tsunade-sensei…"_

* * *

Naruto opened his blue eyes to a familiar sight. Huge red eyes stared at him from the shadows behind great, metal bars.

**'Kit, why are you just sitting there sulking? Is it because you couldn't defeat that Sasuke punk?'** A deep, feral voice said.

"I couldn't bring him back, and now the girl I like will hate me because of it. I promised Sakura-chan I'd bring him back… and I didn't." Naruto said, looking away from the Kyuubi.

**'Kit, why do you like the Sakura girl?'** Kyuubi asked. Naruto looked at him, confused.

"Why not?" He asked.

**'I mean, what reason do you like her for? She treats you like trash, and is in love with the Uchiha traitor. Plus, she is loud and annoying.'** Kyuubi said, sneering.

"I guess I don't really have a reason. I'm pretty sure I had one at some point…" Naruto paused, deep in thought. "Hey, wait a second! Why do you wanna know?"

**'It may not seem like it, but I respect and care for you, kit! You remind me of myself when I was young.'** The fox's eyes softened. **'Hey, kit…'**

"What now?" Naruto said angrily.

**'Did you ever think…' **Kyuubi began. **'Did you ever think that the reason you don't have a reason… is because you don't like her anymore?'**

"W-What? What do you mean?" Naruto asked, shocked.

**'I mean, I think you don't like her anymore, but can't tell because you've never had anything to compare it to.' **Kyuubi said.** 'And by the way, wake up. Your Hokage or whatever is really worried.'**

* * *

Naruto awoke to morning daylight. He looked about, noticing Tsunade snoring quietly in a chair across the room. He got up out of bed, a sinister gleam in his eyes. He walked up to her, put his mouth right next to her ear, and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"HI, GRANNY TSUNADE!" She screamed and awoke with a jolt. Naruto fell to the ground and rolled around laughing. "You should have seen the look on your face! It was priceless!" He quickly found himself with several lumps on his head and an angry Hokage glaring at him. Her glare quickly softened, however, and she pulled him into a hug.

"If you ever worry me like that again, I'll kill you." She whispered in his ear. She let him go, and left the room, saying, "Hold on, Naruto, I'm pretty sure you have a visitor."

* * *

Hinata was awoken by someone gently shaking her shoulder. She looked up to see Tsunade smiling at her. "He's awake, Hinata. Let's heat up that ramen in the kitchen before you visit him, though."

* * *

Moments later, Hinata timidly stepped through the door to Naruto's room. She saw him sitting cross-legged on the bed, leaning up against the wall, his eyes closed. _'What a strange position to fall asleep in, Naruto-kun… you look so peaceful…'_ Hinata thought to herself. She took a seat on the bed across from him "I'm glad you are okay, Naruto-kun… I was so worried…" she said quietly.

"Why would you worry about me, Hinata chan?" Naruto asked. Hinata jolted.

"Y-you looked s-so p-p-peaceful that I-I thought you were a-asleep…" Hinata said, blushing furiously. '_I can't believe I said that to him while he was awake!'_

"Nah, I was just thinkin'," He said. "Did we bring Sasuke back?" He looked at her questioningly.

"I-I do not think so…" Hinata said timidly. "I haven't seen him, and you've been here for 3 months…"

"3 MONTHS?" Naruto shouted, shocked. "Heh, I was wondering why my hair was so much longer…" He said, tugging on a stray lock of blond hair.

"I-I brought you some ramen… I just heated it up…" She held the container out in front of her, along with some chopsticks.

"Ramen! Yeeoush! I haven't had ramen in a while!" Naruto exclaimed as he dug in. Hinata smiled a little and blushed. "Wow, this is good! Is this Ichiraku ramen? It's better than usual!"

"N-no, I cooked it m-myself…" Hinata said quietly.

"Wow, this is the best ramen I've ever had! You are a really good cook, Hinata-chan!" Naruto said happily between slurps of ramen. Hinata felt faint from all the blood going to her face. Naruto paused to look at her for a second. "Are you feeling okay, Hinata-chan? You look feverish."

"I-I'm okay, N-Naruto-kun…" She said, blushing. _Wait… did he just call me Hinata-CHAN? Maybe… maybe he likes me, too?_

"Well, thanks for the ramen, but I have to go! Ero-Sennin said he needed to talk to me. I'll see you later, Hinata-chan!" With that, he left through the window. Hinata just sat on the opposite bed and swooned.

"N-Naruto-kun…" She whispered, smiling and blushing.

* * *

Naruto arrived on the roof to see Jiraiya looking through binoculars and chuckling. "That's a crime, you know, Ero-Sennin." He said confidently. Jiraiya quickly pocketed the binoculars and cleared his throat.

"Ah, Naruto. I need to speak with you seriously about something." Jiraiya said. "I was wondering if you would be interested in an S-class mission Tsunade offered us." Naruto's eyes lit up. "I'll take that as a yes. It is to leave Konoha for three years of training." Naruto's eyes widened.

"Th-three years? I don't know…" Jiraiya cleared his throat again.

"You didn't let me finish. Also, we will be hunting Orochimaru. It is crucial that we find and eliminate him before his is able to use Sasuke as a container." Naruto grinned a little.

"Give me a day to prepare and say goodbye to my friends." Naruto said quietly. Jiraiya nodded. Naruto leapt down to the street and took off at a run.

* * *

Naruto stood up at the Ichiraku ramen stand, where he had gathered all his friends. "I bet you all wonder why I gathered you here. I have something important to tell you all. Tomorrow, I'm leaving Konoha with Ero-Sennin for three years! I have to go pack, so I'll say goodbye now. See you all in three years!" With that, he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Well THAT was weird." Said Shino loudly. Everyone just stared at him. "What? Why are you all looking at me like that?"

* * *

Hinata lay on her bed, tears flowing down her face. _'Why couldn't I tell him how I feel?'_ She thought to herself silently. _Now he's leaving for three years, and he will probably find love elsewhere… I missed my chance.' _She sobbed loudly.

"Nee-chan… What is wrong…?" she heard as the door to her room slid open. "Why are you crying?" Hyuuga Hanabi said as she approached her sister. Hinata rushed over and pulled her little sister into an embrace, crying into her shoulder. Hanabi stroked her sister's hair, and Hinata cried harder.

"He's leaving!" She cried. "He's leaving and I never told him how I feel!" Hanabi hugged her sister tighter and rocked back and forth. "It will be okay, Hinata-chan…" she said. Hinata continued to sob, and Hanabi just sat there, holding her older sister for a while. When Hinata stopped sobbing, she had fallen asleep, and Hanabi put her to bed.

* * *

Two years later…

Tsunade looked at her three students. Sakura and Ino had progressed greatly, but neither had progressed as much as Hinata. After Naruto had left, Hinata had returned to her studies like a girl possessed, and was now a very skilled medic-nin. Sadly, she had not gained much confidence, and if anything, was even quieter and more timid than when Naruto had been around. Tsunade sighed.

"I'm sending you three on a mission to Wave country. They have been sending reports of Missing-Nins in the area, and I want you three to eliminate them. With your unique skills, and the Taijutsu and Medical Jutsu I have taught you, you should have no problem dispatching several Mist, Cloud, and Rain Nins. I will also send Shizune with you to observe your progress, and to help if it is needed." Tsunade grinned. "I doubt it will, though, as you three have grown much these past two years, and I believe you to be fully capable of this mission."

Shizune stepped forward. "We leave in 6 hours, so please go pack."

"Yes, Shizune-sensei." All three girls said in unison. They left the building as Ino ran off to her home at the flower shop, and Sakura walked down the street beside Hinata.

"You know, Hinata, we might run into Naruto on our mission. The last letter that Tsunade-sensei got from Jiraiya-sama said something about them heading towards Wave country." '_Of course, that letter is already seven months old…'_ Thought Sakura to herself. Hinata's eyes lit up at the mention of Naruto, and she blushed.

"N-Naruto-kun…? I-I would like that… I really miss him…" Hinata mumbled.

"Yeah, I miss him too…" Sakura said, and Hinata felt a little jealous.

_'How can I stand up to someone as pretty as Sakura… especially when Naruto already likes her…'_ she thought to herself. _'When I next see Naruto-kun, I'll show him I'm worthy of his attention! I'll show him that I acknowledge him and maybe…maybe he will acknowledge me as well!_' Hinata reddened even more.

* * *

Several days later…

Sakura knocked on the thick wooden door that led to Tazuna's residence. The door opened, and she was looking down at a little, dark-haired boy.

"Neh, Inari! Can you go get your mom and ask her if we can stay a few days while on a mission?" Sakura asked, smiling. Inari grinned, and leapt forward, hugging Sakura.

"How's life been, Sakura-Neechan?" He said happily. "Come on in, I'll go get my mom." Shizune, Sakura, Hinata, and Ino all entered and sat down around the table. A moment later a dark haired woman came rushing in.

"Sakura-chan! How have you been?" She frowned. "Oh? Where are your old teammates as well as Kakashi-san?"

"Naruto left two years ago to train with one of the legendary sannin, and Sasuke…" tears welled up in Sakura's eyes. "Sasuke left the village, and is currently a criminal."

"I-I'm sorry to bring it up…" Tsunami said as she hugged Sakura. "It must be really hard… I know you loved him…" Hinata looked longingly at the two embracing. She missed how Hanabi used to do that to her every night when she wept herself to sleep. "So, are you going to introduce me to your new sensei and teammates?" Tsunami said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Ah, these are my good friends Yamanaka Ino, Hyuuga Hinata, and my sensei Shizune." Sakura said, wiping the tears from her eyes. "We came to deal with your little missing-nin problem."

"Someone finally came to help! I was hoping it would be one of you three!" She said, referring to Team seven. "They have been robbing the caravans, and no one can cross the Great Naruto Bridge, because the Nins always have patrols somewhere on it. Speaking of Naruto, he was here a few months ago, him and some odd old man." _Definitely Jiraiya-san…_ thought Shizune.

"You three should be able to handle a patrol yourselves, right? I need to rest." Shizune said with a yawn, causing everyone in the room to sweatdrop.

"I think Tsunade-sensei's laziness is rubbing off on you, Shizune-sensei…" Ino said skeptically.

"We should do it ourselves…" said Hinata with quiet determination. She got up and walked outside.

"Oh, Inari, before we go, how was Naruto doing?" Sakura asked. "I haven't seen him in two years!"

"He was err… different. You'll have to see for yourself. He should be getting here within the next couple days. He sent us a letter a while ago saying he should be getting here soon." Sakura brightened. _'He will be here! Hinata will be so happy!'_ Sakura thought.

"That's great! Let's go Ino. We don't want to keep Hinata waiting.

* * *

Hinata got into her Jyuuken stance as the two missing-nins stared down at her from atop one of the bridge towers. Both had Mist Jounin flak jackets, and both wore masks and hoods. Sakura and Ino ran up behind her. "Hinata! We are here now!" Both of the other girls looked up where she was looking and saw the Nins right as they leapt down to fight. "Try to use as little Tsunade Taijutsu as possible! The bridge needs to stay intact!" Sakura said urgently. She and Ino got into battle stances as the two missing-nin Jounins ran at them wielding katanas. Hinata met their charge with a slight stance change.

"You two are in my field of divinity!" She said angrily. "Hyuuga Arts: 128 points of Hakke!" She spun about between the two Missing-nin, delivering tenketsu-closing thrusts with her hands. "Two! Four! Eight! Sixteen! Thirty Two! Sixty Four! One Hundred and Twenty Eight Points of Hakke!" She shouted angrily, moving at blinding speed. Both the Missing Nins fell to the ground, unconscious. Sakura quickly went to work, using a chakra scalpel to cut their brain stems, killing them painlessly.

"Thanks for saving us some, Hinata." Said Ino jokingly. Hinata looked up and gasped. Sakura and Ino followed her gaze to see fifteen Jounin and Chuunin Missing-nins staring down at them. All the Missing-Nins jumped down in a group. They all wore masks and hoods.

"You will pay for killing those two. Jikiji, Kijiki, Mijiki, take care of them." He said, thrusting his arm forward towards the three girls. Three Nins, all looking exactly the same, rushed forward at a blur. All three performed the seals for Bunshin no Jutsu, and each split into 3 more nins. Sakura and Ino leapt forward, both whirling around with a chakra scalpel on both hands. All the bunshins disappeared, and the triplet nins all fell to the ground dead, blood pooling around them. "Time to end this foolishness. Everyone, attack!" The lead nin said, but just as they were all about to leap forward, They paused as they heard a voice in the distance, but quickly growing louder.

"Yah-TAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" They all heard, as something hit the bridge and formed a deep crater between the Missing-Nins and Konoha-Nins. When the dust cleared, They all saw a young, slightly wiry blonde man standing atop a large red and green toad. He wore an opened button-up pink shirt, On the back of which was the word "Smile". Under the Smile shirt he wore a ninja mesh shirt, showing off his hard-earned muscles. He also wore orange cargo shorts, and a pair of red Ninja-tabi over white ankle socks. His hair was tied back in a Shikamaru or Iruka-ish featherduster ponytail. To top it all off he had a horizontal scar across his face and whisker-like marks on his cheeks just below his deep blue eyes. He wore Jiraiya's old "Oil" Hitae-ate, and a Konoha Hitae-ate around his upper right arm.

"Who in the hell are you?" Said one of the missing Nins.

The young man did the Jiraiya "Legendary Frog Hermit" dance atop the toad. "I am the heir to the title, "Legendary Frog Hermit", The one and only future Hokage, Konoha's Yellow Rage, Uzumaki Naruto!" He shouted. "And I will not let you hurt any of my precious people!"

* * *

Woo! A little over six pages! Sweet! I like this a lot better. I already had how I wanted Naruto to look in my head. I think he looks AWESOME. But that's just me. In the next chapter, there will be some cool fighting, and Naruto has a new technique! PLEASE READ AND REVIEW, HELL YEAH! 


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